LOCAL stocks ended Thursday in the black, with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rising 0.3 per cent or 8.4 points to close at 3,141.71.

Geoff Howie, market strategist at the Singapore Exchange, said that Thursday's advance indicates that the index is poised to see its strongest first quarter gains since 2012. As at Thursday's close, STI's quarter-to-date price gain stands at 10.5 per cent, with dividends boosting the total return to 10.9 per cent.

"Like in 2012, and 2017, when the STI also saw comparatively strong starts to the year, the local benchmark has outpaced regional benchmarks, with the STI close to tripling the gains of the broader Asia-Pacific benchmarks," he said.

He added that the rotation from technology to banks, underpinning the STI's gains, was a "key theme of the quarter".

Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 250 to 219, with 1.61 billion securities worth S$1.65 billion having changed hands.

Two of the three listed lenders were among the biggest gainers on Thursday. UOB came out tops, rising 1.6 per cent or S$0.41 to S$25.85. DBS was another notable advancer, gaining 0.7 per cent or S$0.20 to S$28.50. OCBC also ended the day in the black, but charted a more muted rise; the counter closed at S$11.62, up 0.1 per cent or S$0.01.

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On the other end of the spectrum, members of the Jardine Group of companies were among the biggest losers. Jardine Matheson Holdings fell 1.8 per cent or US$1.19 to US$65.52; Jardine Strategic Holdings lost 1 per cent or US$0.34 to US$33.50, while Hongkong Land shed 3.8 per cent or US$0.19 to US$4.82. Dairy Farm also slipped 2.5 per cent or US$0.11 to US$4.32.

Tech plays were also among the decliners. Venture Corporation lost 1.8 per cent or S$0.36 to S$20.03; AEM Holdings slipped 1.4 per cent or S$0.06 to S$4.12, while UMS Holdings fell 2.3 per cent or S$0.03 to S$1.26.

Nanofilm Technologies also ended Thursday in the red. The counter closed at S$4.86, down 1.8 per cent or S$0.09.

Across the region, investor sentiments were mixed. The Nikkei 225 and Kospi gained 1.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively. On the other hand, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 per cent; the Jakarta Composite Index shed 0.5 per cent, and the KLCI slipped 0.3 per cent.